Team Notes: Dutchmen Renew Rivalry with Engineers

Dutchmen Continue Route 7 Rivalry Against No. 18 RPI
Just two weeks after playing to a 3-3 draw in the Halloween Faceoff at Lake Placid, No. 12 Union and No. 18 RPI will meet again for a home-and-home series, starting with a Friday night contest at Messa Rink. Both teams are nationally ranked, as they were when they met in October.  The Dutchmen (6-1-3, 1-0-1 ECAC Hockey) enter the contest with a seven-game unbeaten streak (4-0-3), their longest since a nine-game streak (5-0-4) last season. RPI (4-2-3, 1-1-0 ECAC Hockey) is coming off a tough 1-0 loss at Harvard, as the Crimson scored with 8.2 seconds left to play to hand the Engineers their first league loss.

Union Ranked No. 12 in Polls, Highest Ranking in Decade
The Union College men's ice hockey team were ranked for a school-record 19th consecutive week in the top-20 in the USCHO.com poll, moving up three spots to No. 12 in the rankings that were released on Nov. 8. The Dutchmen received 421 points coming off a 1-0-1 start in league play, with a 2-1 win at Harvard, and a scoreless tie at Dartmouth. Union also moved to No. 12 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll, receiving 124 votes. This is the highest that Union has been ranked since Dec. 4, 2000, when Union was also ranked No. 12 in both polls.

Home is where the Heart is
Dating back to last season, the Dutchmen are unbeaten (8-0-1) in nine regular season home games at Messa Rink. Not including exhibition contests, the Dutchmen are 128-132-41 all-time at home and 68-45-19 with Nate Leaman behind the bench.

Presizniuk Needs One Point, Assist To Top D-I Era Lists
Senior forward Adam Presizniuk has been on a torrid scoring pace to start the season. He is currently third on the NCAA Division I scoring list with 17 points (five goals, 12 assists).  With 115 points (41 goals, 74 assists), Presizniuk is now tied for eighth on the career points list and tied for first on Union's Division I points list with Jason Walters ('10). Presizniuk also needs just one assist to become the Union's Division I-era assist leader. He shares the current mark with Joel Beal ('05). Presizniuk became the 19th member of the Union College Century Club when he surpassed 100 career points against Sacred Heart on Oct. 9.

Scouting RPI
Union's traveling partner had a seven-game unbeaten streak snapped on Saturday night when Harvard's Alex Killorn scored with 8.2 seconds to play to give the Crimson a 1-0 win at Bright Hockey Center. RPI (4-2-3, 1-0-1 ECAC) opened up league play with a 4-1 win at Darmouth. Senior forward Chase Polacek scored twice, and junior goaltender Allen York made 25 saves to lead the Engineers.

Polacek, the reigning ECAC Player of the Year, has picked up where he left off last season, leading RPI with 11 points (five goals, six assists) through nine games. Senior forward Tyler Helfrich has contributed 10 points (four goals, six assists).

Sophomore Nick Bailen is ECAC Hockey's top scoring defenseman, netting two goals with six assists for eight points. Freshman forward Brock Higgs has also provided offense with seven points (three goals, four assists).

Junior netminder Allen York who has started all nine games for the Engineers, is fifth in the country with a 1.62 goals against average and a .939 save percentage.

The Series
Union's biggest rival owns a 44-22-10 overall record against the Dutchmen, including a 28-19-9 Division I mark. However, Union has gone 7-1-2 in the last ten outings, including a 3-1 showing last year. All-time against the Engineers, the Dutchmen are 12-17-2 at Messa Rink and head coach Nate Leaman is 12-5-4 all-time against RPI.

Last Meeting
On Oct. 30, freshman defenseman Mat Bodie scored with 30 seconds remaining in regulation to help Union earn a 3-3 tie with RPI in the Halloween Faceoff at the famed Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, NY. Greg Coburn and Adam Presizniuk both scored power play goals to give Union a 2-0 lead after one period of play. RPI's Nick Bailin scored late in the second period to cut Union's lead to 2-1.  In a span of 11 seconds, RPI completed the comeback and took its first lead of the game. C.J. Lee pounced on a rebound at 10:50 to tie the game at 2. Then Helfrich gave the Engineers the lead, beating Kinkaid over the shoulder at 11:01. RPI appeared poised for a come-from-behind victory until Bodie's goal in the final minute.